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Spokane County unanimously grants 10-year cable franchise to Comcast
Summary
The Spokane County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously March 18, 2025, to grant Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC a 10-year cable franchise covering use of county rights of way; the contract includes a 5% cable revenue fee, a 0.5% PEG capital fee, performance guarantees and complimentary service to six county locations.
Spokane County’s Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously March 18, 2025, to grant a 10-year cable franchise to Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC to construct, operate and maintain a cable television system in county roads, highways and rights of way.
The franchise agreement, presented to the board by Brian Grogan, will require Comcast to pay 5% of its gross revenues from cable services to the county and an additional 0.5% of cable revenue earmarked for PEG (public, educational and governmental) capital needs. The contract also includes local government and regional channels, customer-service and right-of-way requirements based on Spokane County Code Chapter 7.40, and performance-security provisions including a $100,000 performance bond and a $50,000 security fund.
Brian Grogan, a county staff presenter, told commissioners the agreement is a standard industry-length contract and that Comcast has already executed the documents. "It's a 10 year contract, which is fairly typical, in the industry," Grogan said. He added that Comcast "has already accepted and executed the documents," and that the county's updated right-of-way code (adopted December 2022) will govern enforcement.
Key provisions: the franchise ties local-access channel requirements to high-definition and standard-definition carriage so residents can view county programming regardless of household equipment; Comcast will provide complimentary connectivity to the county public works facility and complimentary cable service to six county locations; and FCC regulations governing certain complimentary services are incorporated by reference so the contract will conform to changes in applicable federal rules. The county staff presentation also said the franchise stemmed from earlier work on a TDS franchise and prior extensions of a 1991 franchise.
During the public hearing portion of the meeting there were no members of the public who testified on the franchise. Commissioners then moved and seconded approval; the motion passed unanimously.
Votes at a glance - Consent agenda items 3, 4 and 5: approved (motion made and seconded; recorded as "aye" and passed unanimously). - Spokane County — Comcast cable communications franchise agreement (10-year contract): approved unanimously (motion made and seconded; recorded as "aye" across the board).
The board scheduled an executive session on pending and potential litigation under RCW 42.30.110 to begin after the meeting; the chair said no action would be taken following that executive session and the meeting adjourned after the session began.
